Recording device for automobiles.



C. BORNMANN. RECORDING DEVICEFOR AUTOMOBILES-i "gunman FILED uovz, 191a.

7 1,218,364. Patented Mn1-.6,l917.

CARL BOBNM-ANN, or BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK.

RECORDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

specification of Letters Patent. Patented 1?! l. 6, 1917.

Application filed November 2, 1916. Serial No. 129,071.

To all whom it may comern:

lie it known that I, CARL BORNMANN, a citizen of the' United States, and a resident of the "city of Binghamton, county of' liroome, and .State of New York, have invented a new and useful Recording Device for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

.flhose who are accustomed to 'un automobiles frequently find necessity for some.

' means of making a record of the occurrences that transpire while on the road. Indeed sometimes a record made at the time is not only a convenience but is practically essential for the protection or subsequent use of the chauffeur or owner. As, for example, in' the event of an accident, an arrest, a misdirection, distance traveled, or similar occurrences, and when occasionarises to make such' record usually there 1s no suitable matefrial upon which to make it, so that resort be had to some scra of paper or other inconvenient or undesira le material which may beaccessible. It is the purpose ofthisinvention,'therefore,' to provide a convenient-always present, compact and instantly ';'ready reference may be had to 80;

available means upon wlnohthe record can be madeand which is so constructed that made records, and also so that to record may be removed from the device and'folded or rolled for permanent preservation.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 1s a, perspective view illustrating the lnvention mounted upon the front board of an auto mobile; Fig. 2 is an edgewise elevatlon of a .device embodying the invention, partially in section; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the rear of the device shown in Fig. 2, discloslng its interior construction, portronsbeing broken awa Fig. 4 is a verticalsectional view on the ins 4-4 of Fig. 3, looking in the directionof the arrows.

In. the drawings 1 represents the foot board of an. automobile, 2 the front board, '3 a device embodying my invention supported upon the front board 2. The body of the device is preferably made in the form of a rectangular-metallic frame 4, open front-and back, and having preferably flanges 5, 5, in

the front, leaving an open space betweenthem, within which is supported a writ-in tablet or board 6, having smooth curved on s 7, 7. The tablet may be a-se arate piece of metal or integral with the si o pleces of the frame. 8- is a door hinged at its lower edge reviously 9 to the body of the frame, so thatit is adapted to be swung open as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. At each side of the'dom: there is a. flange 1U (seen best in Fig. 2) with an extended lower portion through which a rivet or equivalent device 1.1, passes to form the pivotal joint- J, there being of course one'such on each side of the frame. At its upper end the material forming the door is rolled over as at 12, thus forming a latch-like structure which engages with the top of the frame and holds the door locked when closed, and at the bottom there is another rolled over part 13, which, when the door is fully open, rests against the under 1 each spindle may be turned in either direction. Iprefer that these spindles should be provided with flanges 18-, thus making them 1n effect spools. A A

19 is a shaft which extends across the frame from one'side to the other midway between the spindles, upon which are mount-' ed springs 20, preferably in such manner that they may rock or oscillate upon the shaft, and from each spring there .-are two projecting termi als 21, which-nengage oosely in .clips 2 formed uponor cut out from curved compression plates 23, which press upon the paper, or uivalcnt material 24 wound upon the spoo s, exerting such Pressure thereon as to secure smooth, even winding thereof and tension over the writing tab at 6. 25, 25, are two laterally projecting ears flush, or substantially so with the rear edge of the sides of the frame through each of which a key hole opening 26 is made, within which a headed bolt or Screw 27, which is fastened in the front board 2 of the automobile, may be inserted, whereby the recording device may be quickly and easily attached to and detached from the front board. In order to avoid possibility -of scratching or otherwise defacing the front board'I prefer toflinethe faces of these cars with felt, or equivalent material- 28.

29, 29, are two spring clips, which may ios from the rear edge of the'side of the frame inwardly toward the center and, as will be seen best in Figs. 2 and 4, I make the slot which is adjacent to the winding thumbnut of each spool somewhat wider than the 'com-, panion slot on the opposite side so that the hub of the windingnut maybe received within the slot thus affording a somewhat better bearing and'freedom from jamming or binding of any of the parts;

v The operation is as follows: -To apply the extended strip of record paper or equivalent material', an appropriate spool,"preferably the lower. one, is removed from the frame and the papenis coiled upon it infa manner well understood; yThe-spindl'es of the spools have 'slits'made' in :them toreceive the tapered end of the..paper as usual-in such structuresf'The compression plate 23, which normally engageswith the spool, is then lifted, compressing the springs 20 in so doing, and the spool is dropped mto place,

its axis pasing through the'slots 311:0 the bottom thereof. The ressure late is then released which will ta e a bearing upon the exteriorsurface'of the a'pe'r wound upon the spool. The end of t e paper has previously been passedthrough the o and the lower flange f the frame. The exposed end of paper is then gently pulled upon until suflicient has been unwound to' pass its end through the slit between the upper end of the writing tablet 6 and the upper flange 5 of the frame and its end is then in like manner attached to the spindle 14-of the upper spool. Thereupon the upper spindle is turned by its thumbnut in a manner well understood until the paper has been drawn snugly down upon the writing tablet and has made two or three convolutions about the upper spindle. Thereupon the door-being closed, the device is hung upon the front board of an automobile by suit ably engaging the key hole 'openings'in the ears 25, 25, with above stated. Y

When it is desired to make a record the operator taking hold of the. rounded upper edge of the door pulls it forwardly and downwardly as far as desired: .If itis moved so far that the lower rounded e 13 the bolts or-screws 27 as comes in contact with the under side 0 -.the

frame, it will be found that the cover afi'ords a convenient hand rest to aid inmaking the- P tween the lower edge of the writing tablet 6 ca lly upon their supporting shaft, thus mamtalnmg uniform pressure upon the two and having an openmback afidqfroni' gt recordi: The lowering of the cover will expose the record paper stretched across the outer surface of the writing tablet in 9. c0nvenient manner for making the record there, on. The record, whatever it may' be,-and of such length as may be desired, 'is.-then' written upon the paper, the pencil for so doing being always conveniently at hand, supported upon the under side of the tablet by the pencil holding clips. 29. Y The record being made, the cover is again closed which protects it against rain, the spattering ef mud or otherdefacement. the reco'rdf spool and if at anytime it shall-become sirableso to 'do, the record may bew'o'u'ndw back by appropriate manipulation, of the winding-key of the lower spool sothat'the paper will be back wound from thelupper spool to the lower spool until the desired record be reached,- whereupon the pa r may be rewound upon the up r spoo rflagain. ,l When all of the'paper usedu the entire device will .be detached from the board of the automobile by simply t in such .manner that the headed screws? 1 '10s bolts 27 are disengaged from the ks slots 26 in the ears 25, whereupon the ture being turned over and the out, the pa bearing the record ma removed-an fresh pa r supplied-. Itwill be noted at inasmuch: spring'pressure devices-are adapted" oscillating or rocking movement upofi -tlief shaft 19, which supports them, that they; automatically adjust themselves to'the' sizeg l ofthe paper wound upon the reS ectivZLT spools; that is to say, as one spool decrew'es'l and the other increases in size the spring pressure or tension devices will jautomati- Is. It will be obvious to those who arefamil 1ar with such mattersthat the embodiment invention above described and innsn trate is one form only, in which the essentials thereof may be employed: 1 therefore do not limit myself to the details of con struction. r

evme-com' rising on exterior frame i o sides wh gaf-are s 15 journaled m-slctsz medezin: aid of the frame, toTiotate;

spools in either direction, a writing tablet in the front of the frame, a drop cover hlnged to the lower partof the frame and which ensomewhat smaller than the openin tirely closes its front, rotectin the record,

and a s )ring pressure riction evice engag- 7 ing eac spool. y

2. A registerin device comprising an exterior frame all t e sides whereof are closed and having an open back and front, two spools journaled in slots made in opposite sides of the frame, means to rotate the spools -in either direction, a writing tablet somewhat smaller than the opening in the frame, a drop cover hinged to the lower part of the frame and which entirely closes its front, protecting the record, a spring pressure friction device engaging with each s and compression plates on the free on the springs.

A registering device comprising an exterior frame having an open front and back,

two spools journaled on opposite sides of the frame, means to rotate the spools in either direction, a writing tablet somewhat smaller than the opening in the front of the frame and having rounded ends, a cover to close the front of the frame and act as a protector of the record, and spring pressure devices adaptedto automatically rock on their supool of port and thus equalize the tension on both spools as their diameters vary and compact and protects the record, and spring pressure devices adapted to'automatically rock on their support and thus equalize the tension "on both spools as their diameters vary and compact the paper thereon.

5. A registering device comprisin an exterior frame, two spools journal within the frame and suitably supported tension devices located between the spools and compression plateson the free ends of the tension devices which automatically oscillate on their supports as the respective diameters of the spools vary.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

. CARL BORNMANN. 

